“Like Michael Jordan, Taylor Swift” … Dodgers Investing in Otani, Why 924 Billion ‘Sad’

The Athletic, a U.S. sports media outlet, analyzed the contents of the contract on the 11th (Korea Standard Time) with an article titled “Was the $700 million contract between the Dodgers and Ohtani a good contract?”

The Athletic said, “After Otani’s three greatest seasons in major league history, he raised money ($700 million), and the question is whether the amount is worth it,” and asked, “Would the Dodgers have been wise to invest a lot of money in Ohtani, who underwent a second elbow surgery?”

In fact, it was expected to be a big deal for Ohtani. Ohtani has been consistent for six years since 2018, the first year of the big league, and has broken various records through both pitching and hitting. The path Ohtani is going has become a new history of the Major League Baseball (MLB).

Several teams have paid attention to Ohtani, who has been quiet since the end of the season, but the details of the negotiations have not been disclosed as agent Nez Valero demanded that the clubs not be informed about the negotiations. 사설 토토사이트

However, as time went by, expectations about the size of Ohtani’s contract began to emerge. Jeff Bankruptcy of ESPN predicted earlier this month that “Ohtani could receive at least $550 million (about 714.5 billion won) in total contract amount, and other sources said $600 million (about 779.4 billion won) is also possible.” John Hayman of The New York Post predicted, “Ohtani is already known to have received multiple offers that far exceed $500 million, and some predict that he could become a ‘600 million dollar man’ for the first time in Major League history, or at least be close to that.”

Ohtani then turned what he had imagined into a reality. He signed the largest contract in the history of professional sports contracts, surpassing Lionel Messi’s 674 million U.S. dollars that he signed with FC Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga from 2017 to 2021.

The player who received the most money in the Major League has been Mike Trout, who signed an extension contract with the Los Angeles Angels for a total of 426.5 million dollars for 12 years in 2019. It was followed by Mookie Betts ($365 million), Aaron Judge ($360 million), and Manny Machado ($350 million).

However, it is unclear whether Ohtani, who underwent surgery this year, will be able to announce his successful return as a pitcher, as he has to focus only on batters without pitching or hitting in the 2024 season. How did the Dodgers come up with a bold investment.

The first reason was strengthening his capacity. Dodgers calculated that Ohtani’s presence on the mound and in the batting lineup would be a boost to his team. It is safe to say that the interests of the Dodgers, which had been weak in short-term games over the past three seasons, and Ohtani, who has never experienced autumn baseball, matched well.

The second is the marketing effect. “I don’t think there’s a player who can beat Otani’s. There’s a good reason for that,” The Athletic said. “When you’re healthy, you can play both pitching and hitting games. His value in marketing also shows that the Dodgers can earn a huge return on investment.”

An official said, ‘The Dodgers will recover the investment within six to seven years. Ohtani is literally a cushion of money, just for the value of an advertisement. In Japan, Ohtani is Michael Jordan and Taylor Swift.’

Ohtani has drawn attention for his thorough self-management since he played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was also a professional outside of baseball, and many fans cheered for Ohtani. That’s why he was able to quickly capture the hearts of American fans after he moved to the big league.

From the player’s point of view, he has taken on a big burden, but if Ohtani meets expectations, the ripple effect is expected to be great. Will Dodgers be able to bear the fruits of their investment.